NewsPromoted teams: The lowdown on Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton

The Championship season was one of the most exciting in recent memory, with the battle for a place in the top flight fiercely contested and going right down to the final weeks of the campaign.

In the end, Leicester went up as champions, with Ipswich finishing as runners-up. And after another tense round of play-offs, they were joined by Saints, who beat Leeds United 1-0 at Wembley on Sunday to clinch the third promotion spot.

Here, we take a closer look at the three new sides Liverpool will meet in the league next term…

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Leicester City

Premier League pedigree

As one of only seven clubs to have won the Premier League title, the Foxes’ 2015-16 triumph will go down as one of the great underdog stories of modern sport.

Claudio Ranieri’s team were 5,000-1 outsiders to lift the trophy that season, but powered by the goals of Jamie Vardy, the brilliance of Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante, plus an indomitable team spirit, they produced a miracle that will never be forgotten.

Leicester had been something of a yo-yo club during the early Premier League era, spending one season in the top flight in 1994-95, returning for the 1996-97 campaign but then suffering relegations in both the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons.

Having won promotion in 2014, however, they would go on to spend nine years in the top division, finishing fifth in both 2019-20 and 2020-21 under former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.

They were surprisingly relegated in 2022-23, with Rodgers replaced by Dean Smith for the closing weeks of the season, before Enzo Maresca was appointed for the Championship promotion push.

The Italian delivered at the first attempt, Leicester confirming their status as pre-season favourites by racking up 97 points to go up as champions, winning 31 of their 46 league matches.

History v Liverpool

The Foxes have enjoyed moderate success against the Reds during the Premier League era, winning nine of 34 meetings, including three at Anfield – in 1997, 1999 and 2000.

Leicester were one of only two teams to beat Liverpool in the league during the 2021-22 campaign, triumphing 1-0 at King Power Stadium.

But the Reds have won each of the four meetings since, including a 3-1 success in the third round of the Carabao Cup in 2023-24.

Key players

Despite relegation in 2023, the Foxes were able to retain plenty of their Premier League squad.

That includes Vardy, who at 37 still managed to score 20 goals in all competitions last season, and proven quality in the likes of full-back Ricardo Pereira, striker Kelechi Iheanacho and midfielders Wilfred Ndidi and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Key arrivals last season included forward Stephy Mavididi, who netted 13 goals and provided six assists, and former Liverpool defender Conor Coady.

England international midfielder Harry Winks, signed from Tottenham Hotspur, also played a crucial role, as did Belgian centre-back Wout Faes.

Ipswich Town

Premier League pedigree

The rise of Ipswich under Kieran McKenna has been one of the stories of the past two seasons, as the Tractor Boys followed up their promotion from League One in 2022-23 with another in 2023-24.

This will be their first Premier League season since relegation in 2001-02, with McKenna’s side earning widespread plaudits for their style of play, their quality in possession and their ability to score goals – 92 in 46 Championship games this season, after 101 in 46 League One fixtures the year before.

Founder members of the Premier League in 1992, Ipswich spent three seasons in the top flight before being relegated in 1995.

They returned for the 2000-01 campaign, and shocked everyone by finishing fifth, qualifying for the UEFA Cup in the process.

They were relegated the following season, however, and dropped to the third tier in 2019, but following the appointment of former Manchester United coach McKenna in December 2021, they have been able to rise rapidly.

History v Liverpool

Liverpool’s last visit to Portman Road was a successful one, a 6-0 win in February 2002 that featured a debut goal from Abel Xavier.

There was a 5-0 win for the Reds at Anfield later that season, a result that confirmed Ipswich’s relegation, and the sides have only met once since, Liverpool edging a League Cup fourth-round tie on penalties at Anfield in December 2002.

The clubs do, however, have a rich history, having regularly competed at the top of the old First Division in the 1970s and ’80s.

A 5-2 win against Bobby Robson’s team at Anfield in February 1975 stands out, as does a 4-2 aggregate victory in the semi-final of the League Cup in February 1982.

Key players

Ipswich’s success has been built upon a squad made up mostly of young, relatively unproven talents, as well as players who have spent the bulk of their careers in the Football League.

These include attacking midfielder Conor Chaplin, whose 13 goals and eight assists in 2023-24 made him the most decisive player at the club.

Others to reach double figures were Nathan Broadhead, a Wales international signed from Everton, and Omari Hutchinson, who has since returned to parent club Chelsea.

Captain Sam Morsy, an international teammate of Mohamed Salah with Egypt, is a key figure within the side, as is left-back Leif Davis and goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.

Southampton

Premier League pedigree

Another founder member of the Premier League in 1992, Saints spent 13 years in the top flight before being relegated at the end of the 2004-05 season.

Having briefly dropped to the third tier, they returned under the guidance of Nigel Adkins in time for the 2012-13 campaign, and would impress under Adkins’ successor, Mauricio Pochettino, finishing 14th in their first season back and eighth the following year.

Netherlands legend Ronald Koeman replaced Pochettino in 2014 and in his first campaign oversaw a seventh-placed finish, qualifying Saints for Europe in the process, before a rise to sixth the next term.

Southampton finished eighth under Claude Puel in 2016-17, but would drop into the bottom half in each of the next five seasons and were then relegated as the league’s bottom club in 2022-23.

They have, however, ensured an immediate return, finishing fourth in the Championship before beating both West Bromwich Albion and Leeds in the play-offs.

History v Liverpool

Saints have won 11 of the 48 Premier League meetings between the sides, including three of 24 at Anfield.

The most recent league clash, on the final day of the 2022-23 season, ended in an entertaining 4-4 draw at St Mary’s, although the sides did meet in the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup earlier this year, the Reds prevailing 3-0 on home soil thanks to goals from teenagers Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns (two).

Liverpool’s biggest Premier League win over Southampton came with a 7-1 triumph at Anfield in January 1999 – a game notable for the fact that all of the Reds’ goals came courtesy of home-grown players in Robbie Fowler, Dominic Matteo, Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen and David Thompson.

Key players

Saints’ passage to the Premier League was secured at Wembley against Leeds by top scorer Adam Armstrong, whose 24 goals in all competitions were key to their promotion push.

Fellow striker Che Adams netted 18 times, while the performances of home-grown midfielder Will Smallbone and Nigeria international Joe Aribo also caught the eye.

In defence, England U21 international Taylor Harwood-Bellis was part of a promotion-winning side for the second time in as many seasons, having featured for Burnley in 2022-23, while the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek, as well as goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, were retained from the squad relegated from the Premier League.